Update: Life so far with a 981, and does anyone else own a Macan?
 

I missed you guys! It's been a long time since I logged in here, but wanted to catch up on THStone's racing adventures (living vicariously). For those who are interested, I thought I'd give you an update on my 981S experience so far.
Back in September of 2018, I traded in my 2000 986 base for for a 2013 981S. I've put about 8k miles on it so far, and it has been a fantastic car. Love it to death. No serious maintenance issues to report. In fact, the only problem I experienced was related to the battery. Apparently, the PO installed a regular ol' Interstate battery at some point. I purchased the car with 4k miles, so clearly, the car spent lots of time sitting idle, and I have a feeling it sat without a maintainer. My guess is that AAA was likely called for a dead battery, and whatever the dude had on the truck got dropped into the car.
Believe it or not, the car passed the CPO inspection with this miscreant battery installed. I'll never figure that out. Anyway, when I took possession, I was told that the hood and trunk electric release module wasn't working. I would have to return it once the part arrived. Ok, no problem, expect that the module didn't fix the issue (head-slap!). They eventually discovered the rogue battery, and I let the service manager know how I felt. Moral of the story: don't trust that "thorough" CPO inspection. And never swap a regular battery for an AGM in these cars. It really causes some goofy issues.

One last thing -- any Macan owners out there? Wow, have we had some major issues with our 2017 Macan S. First a transfer case failure and then a head gasket leak. Be careful if you decide to buy one of these used. Make sure you have a warranty. Those were both pricey repairs. We love the car, but it's spent a lot of time in the shop...

My understanding of the 981 battery is if you don't keep the car on a battery tender WHILE CHANGING THE BATTERY, it sets off CEL type issues that can only be corrected by a PIWIS. Would think the dealer doing the CPO would have checked for any codes, but glad to hear you're back in business. Hate how they make these new cars impossible for anyone but the dealer to work on.

I had a beautiful 2014 base Boxster in my Wheeler Dealer inventory a few mo ago and it was a fantastic car. I was surprised how much bigger on the outside it was vs my 987.1s. Parking in the garage took a lot more attention. Sold that car in 2 wks, a record for me.

It is a much larger car, especially noted in the interior.

Nope, I would probably not ever choose to work on this car myself. Lots of sensors, PASM, PTV, adaptable engine mounts, sport chrono....maybe an oil change or brake pads, but that's about it.

The dealer told me that 981s vanish from the lot pretty quick -- the last of the flat sixes.

Porsche in its wisdom changed their brake caliper design, so now you have to pull the entire caliper off to remove the pads. Requires more work than their previous design, but it gets better. They use aluminum bolts that to hold the calipers on and they're 1 use bolts. So you need new bolts with each pad change. And the sensors are very difficult to remove, so you should have a set on stand-by.

Thankfully the rear calipers are similar to the old ones.

Once again, it gets more difficult to work on newer cars.

Husker, I had disconnected both terminals from the battery to replace the steering wheel on my 981 and didn't have any issues whatsoever, even the radio stations remained on the car memory..

The 981 is indeed larger than my old 987 and way much more comfortable.. :-)

As you know, you're always welcome back! Glad that the 981 is treating you well. I have heard similar reports about the Macan but wasn't sure if it was a trend or a just a couple of anecdotes.

And thanks for the shout out. :cheers:

I can tell you I was glad the Macan was under warranty. The transfer case replacement would've been around $6k and the head gasket close to the same. :eek:
It's definitely not anecdotal -- the Macan forums are pretty lit with these issues.

I think the most amazing thing about the 981 is the PDK. I thought I was pretty quick with the manual in my 986. There is simply no way on earth even a pro driver could outshift the PDK. It is truly astounding. And...fun. I thought I would miss shifting.

Welcome back!

Surprised and sorry to hear about issues with your Macan. Ordered the Mrs. one of first which finally delivered June ‘14. Been virtually trouble free.

She likes so much I’m getting ready to spec a new remodeled one which should be delivered in July, I think? Glad your warranty covered though and wish you luck with going fotward. I Know many owners w them too and all but one has same great experience.

Good luck and again welcome back :)